1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of container handling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for physically grasping, conveying and releasing containers, such as bottles, on command.
2. Prior Art
The present invention is particularly directed to the handling of containers and particularly of bottles in application where the bottles may not be supported from beneath for any of various reasons. As a typical example and as an illustration of the apparatus for which the preferred embodiment of the present invention is specifically adapted to be used, it is well known to inspect bottles prior to the filling thereof with a beverage or other food product by directing an appropriately disposed light through the bottom of the bottle and viewing the inside of the bottle through the neck thereof. The bottles may not be supported from the base even by a transparent support member during the inspection, as dirt located between the support member and the base of the bottle may be interpreted as being located within the bottle itself, thereby causing rejection of a large number of clean bottles. Similarly, the bottles may not be supported from the top for the same reason. Consequently, in such equipment, it is necessary to engage and support the bottles in some manner from the sides thereof during the inspection procedure.
The equipment of the type described hereabove is presently manufactured by Industrial Automation Corporation of Santa Barbara, California, and sold as their electronic bottle inspector. In such equipment, the bottles are delivered by conveyor to a rotating assembly referred to as a starwheel which is adapted to engage the bottles from the sides at a first level adjacent to the top thereof and at a second level adjacent to bottom thereof. At the same time a rubber suction cup type device engages the bottle between the first and second levels and through the appropriate control of a vacuum delivered to the suction cup, the bottles may be retained or released as desired. The starwheel picks up the bottles from a supply conveyor, carries them past an inspection head and delivers the bottles to a delivery conveyor or rejected bottle corral as required. Those bottles which are indicated as being contaminated by the inspection head, are released by the vacuum device before the bottles reach the delivery conveyor, thereby allowing the bottles to progress to the rejected bottle corral rather than to the delivery conveyor.
The suction cup arrangement which performs the desired function and much equipment of the hereabove described design is in every day use. However, there are certain characteristics of such equipment which are in need of improvement. In particular, the suction cups are subject to deterioration and leakage so as to require occasional replacement if the bottles are to be reliably supported over the inspection station. Also, while the environment in which such equipment is used, obviously must be a relatively clean environment, the continued ingress of unfiltered air to the suction cups, valves and small passageways within the apparatus, can result in a buildup of foreign particles interfering with the rapid communication of the vacuum to the suction cup and, similarly, with the rapid vacuum breaking upon venting the particular cup to the atmosphere. Furthermore, since there are a relatively large number of the vacuum cups, valves, etc. on the starwheel, each of the valves must be independently operable and the mechanism for such an assembly is substantial. Furthermore, while the top and bottom portions of the starwheel are split so as to be readily removable for changing to a different starwheel for bottles of a different size, the vacuum system may not be so readily changed. In particular, the entire assembly of suction cups, valves, etc. must be changed to accommodate a new system with a different number of suction cups, valves, etc. Consequently, the change from one bottle size to another is a substantial undertaking and relatively expensive apparatus must be provided in various configurations to accommodate the change in the starwheel.
There is thus a need for improvement in such starwheel to provide a low cost readily changeable means for grasping and supporting bottles from the sides thereof.